George Rodger seeks out the road best traveled in today’s route map to footballing happiness.
If football is like a religion, then it’s little wonder that people are losing their belief, their faith and ultimately, their way.
Now I am not a religious man. I am no theologian. In fact Doctor Sheldon Cooper likely has more faith than me. But I am pretty sure that the idea is not that you expect your God to make you happy and provide you with an existence that suits you expectations. Sadly though that appears to be exactly what your average Arsenal fan expects from the club.
They buy tickets, wear the latest replica shirts and maintain subscriptions to Arsenal Player. Surely that means the club has a duty to make them happy? I mean this is a big investment we fans have here. A great deal of time and money is spent supporting the club.
It’s a huge commitment on our part.
Where are the returns on our personal investments? We don’t invest like this so as some cheeky Chav from the King’s Road can snigger at us in the pub and make us feel like second-class fans.
Oh no!
We deserve much better than that after all we have done for Arsenal.
But ask yourself.
What exactly have you done for Arsenal?
By “Arsenal” I don’t mean the stadium, team or board. I mean the institution. The whole package. Everything and everyone connected to the club.
But some people blame the club for their unhappiness. For them, their unhappiness is the fault of Arsene, Stan or even, this week or maybe last week, some poor Ivorians. And they should bloody well know how they are not meeting our expectations.
Well here is the thing – it is actually your own fault.
Everyone should look to themselves. Instead of demanding that the club makes your life better, try making your own life better.
You can do this by simply enjoying the football. And helping others to enjoy it.
It must be better if, as human beings, we channel our efforts into making life happier for those people at the club rather than trying to make them miserable. If you are concentrating on bringing misery to others, booing at the ground, making banners designed to hurt people, or ‘just’ abusing other fans who only want to enjoy the team and the game, what does that say about you as a human being?
We should attempt to be positive with our efforts, and make those around us and at the club happier. Not try to bring them to their knees because we want more for ourselves. The easier we make it for the manager, players and club to do their jobs to the best of their ability, the more we will all benefit.
So why not try being responsible for the happiness of others rather than demanding that they meet your individual needs? Life is what you make of it, but presently it seems to me that some are determined to make it miserable for others.
Lets help the club – and each other – by supporting the club rather than trying to destabilize it.
Take a trip along Happy Street and choose the ‘high’ road rather than the ‘my’ road.
See where you end up; you might just surprise yourself.
You can catch George in the fast lane on Twitter @Blackburngeorge
Positively Arsenal 
Morning master GEORGE.
Nice write up. Common sense really. I have felt this way for years now.
we are just dealing with a different breed of fan these days.
You will never walk alone. Indeed.
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I am feeling a bit giddy ,all the way up here on my moral high ground
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Giddy up go master G.
Better there than the gutters teams around us occupy . And the air is nicer up here too.
do you have any information on alishirs partner in the red/white holdings.
The Persian fellow farhad.??
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Excellent piece George;
“The energy, the faith, the devotion which we bring to this endeavor will light our football club and all who support it – and the glow from that fire can truly light the world. And so, my fellow Gooners: ask not what your club can do for you – ask what you can do for your club.”
I’m on form today
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“All this will not be finished in the first 100 days. Nor will it be finished in the first 1,000 days, nor in the next five seasons, nor even perhaps in our lifetime on this planet. But let us begin.”
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oh come one man, i have invested in a ticket ffs..where are my dividents? what do i get for following and paying for arsenal? denilson and chammakh?
you think i buy a ticket as a gesture of love and support to arsenal? haa!!!!
its about social stature buddy….we aint winning..we aint cool anymore…why spend on them mugs ..i think ill go check out the chelsea tickets
ok seriously now, isnt the relationship betwenn fans and players reciprocal ? you get what you give no? you give moans you get misery..so why not try give some smiles..who knows, the kids and the “deadwood” could surprise you ….
oh and before i forget …which english club is still in the champions league? hahaa…. i think ill go join rafa and watch those amazing scenes at old tra4d with fergie and rio giving an oscar perfromance 🙂
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Thank you, George
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Is this our chilled,happy George? Just fortifying himself before a scrap on Twitter. Go George, go!
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Well done George, but as I’ve told you before some people actually enjoy being miserable bastards, where that gets you is nowhere fast,doesn’t achieve anything in fact, but sadly we’re in the Arsenal supporting minority on here, not moaning , marching,waving banners,tweeting wenger out,putting silly bloody stickers up or agreeing with the likes of Piers Morgan, Stewart Robson and that prick of talkshite means we don’t care. Does it fuck.
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George you echo so many of my own thoughts. I remember one of my final conversations with ‘someone who shall remain nameless’ ended when I just could not make him accept that it is a choice, his own choice, how he viewed the match we’d just watched. He could choose to wallow in the defensive error that cost us a goal or choose to revel in the scintillating attacking play which led to our equaliser.
A choice, enjoy or moan. A choice, bitch or celebrate. A choice, blame or commiserate.
It’s your choice, not the club forcing you to be a miserable bastard.
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Nice one George.
No game this weekend. It’s all Wenger & the board’s fault. Wenger & Kroenke out NOW!!!!
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Nice one George.
It’s a fascinating time we live in, both in respect of Arsenal and the wider world.
My main worry with the supporters of the club is that regardless of what happens in the future, there appear to be a bloc for whom having something – anything – to complain about is the new ‘norm’.
In other words, we are in danger of becoming one of those clubs I always used to loath with the whinny fans for whom the glass is always half full and who think things could ALWAYS be better.
We’ll see, I guess. I’m not feeling too proud of our wider support, right now, truth be told.
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Nail on head there, Steww.
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George, lovely post, that’s how it ought to be.
Mel, good post, that’s how it is, depressingly. Fans don’t go on tinternet to get their gripes off their chest, they love whipping themselves up into a frenzy of competitive outrage.
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@ steww
“I remember one of my final conversations with ‘someone who shall remain nameless’”
Who? Go on, give us a clue.
@ hunter13
Great post from last night.
@ dups
(chuckle)
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FG – I don’t kiss and tell…
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I see you have discretion. A good quality.
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It was Bill .I am a grass.
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^ha ha ha
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Its a dead loss on here today .Might have to start posting elsewhere.
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Cheer up George!
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This post is going down like a lead balloon.
I might have to ask GoonerAndy to do one
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Excellent sermon, George!
As they say in some of the charismatic churches when the Pastor is saying something that stirs them, “YOU BETTA PREACH!”
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Nice one George.
Not a dead loss. Just quiet ‘cos there is no football to get excited about (well Arsenal football. The only football that really counts). The calm before the storm probably.
No footie this weekend (bereft). Put my time to good use and make some stickers and banners and whatnot. It’s all the rage y’know. I’ll just put big smiley Arsene faces on mine though.
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Afternoon all,
Interesting topic George and it reminds me of an old article that I wrote last year I think. Many football fans are confused as to what their roles are in all of this and when you take a step back it all looks rather weird. People get to choose what team they will support, some through family, some through friends and others because the team is top of the tree at the time, whatever the reason. There seems to be this massive sense of entitlement from fans. Look at the Chelsea fans at present. Nuts! Raging against a manager they dislike game in, game out. Clearly having an impact on the downfall of their own team yet they continue regardless. Fans have nothing to do with clubs apart from deciding to involve themselves. If I decide to support Manchester City tomorrow, buy myself a shirt and a ticket and I watch a game in where the team lose. Do I have the right as a paying member to boo the team from the start to the finish, slagging off individual players and manager? Now that I have attached myself onto this club, do I have the right to do whatever I please? It seems ridiculous. What exactly is the point? It is not tax, nobody is forcing anyone to buy tickets, watch games etc.
If you find it too tough to witness a team having to go backwards before going forward then give it up, use the Saturday afternoon’s to catch up on the DIY and gardening until Arsenal are successful again. Or if that is too long, find another team. Why make it as difficult as possible to watch matches, read blogs etc
I understand why people want their teams to do better, I mean come on, everyone does. I do and I hope we do take those large steps forward. Everybody thinks improvements can be made. But it almost feels as if people no longer want to enjoy football. It is now a venting target. Somewhere where I can be more upset than the person next to me. Going to games to cheer and enjoy the game has been lost and that is a shame.
I wish some people would try and enjoy the in game moments, a 50/50 tackle, a Santi shift of the feet followed by a long pass out wide. A Giroud flick. I try and enjoy these little moments just as I did when we finished with silverware. If these moments didn’t count then why watch games at all? We could all just check the final whistle and boo to ourselves.
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One things is for sure, is that we will most not get the best out of this current team until we do get behind them. Look at TV, is he carrying the world on his shoulders or what?! People say it is the captaincy that is the problem, maybe, but I dare say that the pressure from the supporters is also a problem. I believe he wants to do well so badly (as with the rest of the team) that he is not playing with his usual freedom.
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What I have learned though, is to enjoy what I enjoy and block out the rest. I no longer have the patience or time to involve myself in those who try to convince me otherwise. If some people want to spend their time making banners, abusing Ramsey or whatever it is at the time then *shrug shoulders* it’s their lives, they make those choices and I disagree that it is the right way but I do not have the energy for it.
In a way, I am glad that this blog has been born via some ACLF changes because it means I get to read two comment sections rather than one.
Have a great weekend all.
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George, I think people are musing over what is written. Thats what happens when people read such wise words.
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Good stuff, Mean Lean.
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It may be a something like a phenomenon?* At Arsenal we have seen a small number of people directing their displeasure at the path modern football has taken upon the Arsenal manager.
Which is daft.
*I’ve got me coat on!
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Then you have the obstinate absolutists.
They know about defending. For example. Which is why skimming the utterances of such expert blogging in recent years we can see no acknowledgement any of the defensive shifts and alterations to various squads D-Fensive shapes. You all remember, the kind of major and obvious things that timmy stillman refers to in his latest column (not the subtle game to game shifts and changes).
Two conclusions:
a) The fast paced changes to the modern game have passed them by so quickly that they are having much trouble accepting the game is and has always been changing. So they deny the game is evolving. Which is just too damn daft.*
b) As Muppet said, a form of sociopathy.
*The Tottnum fans bleating critique of Bale learning his trade (no, not sniffing white lines! I hope.) and playing as anything other then an orthodox Right (or Left) Ole Whinger is the perfect example of this.
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May as well watch an episode of Spartacus.
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George – chill dude, it should be slow, there’s no football on. Hate when people chat shit just to fill the vacuum.
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I agree with Steww. George, don’t stress bro!
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But I like Spartacus
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lol
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oops
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Used to love when me dad used to play this tune.
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I like Spartacus too.
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I thought the Judge had banned you from watching Spartacus, George.
After what happened last time.
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Good points Mean Lean.
Would be interesting to learn at what point a ‘paying fan’ turns into one with an over-blown sense of entitlement and a license to abuse all and sundry. Presumably there must be a mental process attached to this? I also think there is something of the ‘pack’ mentality kicking in, as well. If the pack isn’t celebrating a cup win then the pack will find some other way to let rip.
A tad neanderthal, really.
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So which one of the bottom six teams would we all like to see get relegated??
I know one club will be common with all .
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I like Spartacus and so does my wife
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Not all in the bottom six but I’d shed no tears to wave bye bye to QPR (natch), Southampton because of how they treated their manager) and obviously Stoke.
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i hate it when people like george come on here and because its a bit quite moan and blame everyone else when he should be looking a the quality of the people who have posted ……….. seriously it was a great post george so dont beat yourself up about numbers. i remember someone telling me years ago this club will break your heart and when you give your undying love to something that will always happen. there will never be any guarenteed rewards which is why whenever they come (and stew is right most of the time is how you perceive things ) they should be enjoyed to the max.
losing will always make winning better.
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Brilliant, George. This should be the responsibility felt by every fan. To create a positive, nurturing environment for everyone else. That includes the manager, the players and fellow fans.
Good on you for spelling it out.
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On Meanlean’s point, these fans who constantly complain, in complaining and causing a negative atmosphere, once the team fails, you’re not the problem, you were right all along.
“I said he’d fail, I made it impossible for him to succeed, and he has failed. I must be some kind of genius.”
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Good stuff George! I am so tired of whiny people who are only happy when they are making everyone else miserable. And I think Hunter has it right when he says it’s all about social stature. Win, dammit, so I can lord it over my mates down at the pub. It is, after all, all about me.
I really couldn’t give a shit about silverware, to be honest. Heresy I know, but give me battles hard fought by players I like and care about and I’m happy. Yes I get disappointed, but it’s because I know these boys have it in them to do better, and I want that for them. 25 “world class” assholes could win all the trophies in the world, and it just wouldn’t mean that much to me if I can’t like them.
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